DEEPEND Research Consortium Completes First Year of Grant

Foreground: Heather Judkins identifies some octopus in a sample during a DEEPEND research trip in the northern Gulf of Mexico in Summer 2015. Photo courtesy of deependconsortium.org

The Deep-Palegic Nekton Dynamics of the Gulf of Mexico (DEEPEND), a consortium of which USF St. Petersburg Assistant Professor of Biology Heather Judkins and scientists from other member institutions from around the country are a part, has recently completed the first year of a multi-year Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative grant. The research aims to improve the science community’s understanding about the deep sea ecosystem and the impact of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.